Manufacture of flanged beams with thin webs



i 5 1927. .1623 272 AP r1 N. c. RENDLEMAN MANUFACTURE OF FLANGED BEAMS WITH THIN WEBS Filed July 2. 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Snow wot April 5 1927.

Filed July 2. 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2- gv'vuento o Norma/7 G. Bend/emam il 5 1927. Apr N. c. RENDLEMAN MMIUFACTURE OF FLANGED BEAMS WITH THIN WEBS 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 2. 1925 l /V. C. Qend/anww process.

NORMAN C. RENDLEMAN, 0F DORMONT, PENNSYLVANIA.

MANUFACTURE OF FLANGED BEAMS WITH THIN'WEBS.

Application filed July 2, 1925. Serial No. 40,861.

This invention is an improvement on that described and claimed in my application filed March 15, 1923, Serial No. (325,342, for manufacture of flanged beams, and aims to improve processe'; of metal rolling. It is particularly applicable to rolling flanged structural m'embers and beams having thin' webs, such as I-beams and channels, of light weight and greater depth in proportion to weight than it has heretofore been considered practicable to produce 01 than could'be readily produced by rolling processes heretofore commonly used.

A further aim of the invention isto improve metal rolling processes whereby the neces ary changes in cross sectional shape from the billet to the finished shape may be secured with a minimum reduction in crosss'ectional area, thus enabling thin sections to be completed at one heat.

. Further aims and advantages of the invention appear hereinafter in connection with the illustrative mode of pra ticing the invention shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein I Figs. 1 to 8, inclusive, are vertical longitudinal sections through the bights of alining portions of the rolls of successive stands in a continuous mill;

Fig. 9 is an end view showing the outline or shape of the cross-section of the finished beam chosen for illustrating the process and Fig. 10 is a diagram showing full size the comparative shapes of the illustrative billet and blank at successive stagesof the In the rolling of very thin sections time is an important factor as the rolling must be completed before the temperature of the metal becomes too low. My invention enables light, thin sections to be produced at much higher rolling speed than heretofore and hence'shortens the time required to the limit within which the rolling may be completed at one heat. The invention is preferably put intooperation in a so-called continuous mill, that is, one having the successive passes arranged in series in a straight line following the direction of movement of thebillet or blank by providing a series of stands of two high rolls through which the billet or blanktravels continuously in one direction, being engaged by two or more stands of rolls simultaneously and its speed of movement increasing as'its cross-sectional area is'reduced in the successive passes, the

. Figs. an

suit the speed of travel of the billet or blank as it enters each set of rolls.

For purposes of description theinvention is illustrated in a suitable mode for the production of a ten inch I-beam (see Fig. 9) having a Weight of about eight pounds per liuear foot and of such cross-sectional shape that the thickness of the-web 11 is about 1 or less of the depth, and the width of the flange 12 is about of the depth.

Such a beam may advantageously be rolled from an approximately square billet whose longest side is preferably about one half to two-thirds of the depth of the beam (see Figs. 1 andlO). In the example selected for illustration the billet 13 is five by six inches and weighs about one hundred pounds per foot, necessitating a reduction in cross-section and consequent elongation of about twelve to one. This billet is much smaller in height and width than the 'blooms or billets required for producing flanged beams of the same depth by any rolling methods in use prior to my invention on which this dprocess is an improvement (see 6 of my application Ser. No. 625,342) and hence can be rolled to finished "dimensions in' less time than has heretofore been possible with larger billets, and while the metal is at rolling heat.

Another advantage of my process is that the smaller billet required has sufficient length to be readily handled in the heating furnaces and on the rolling mill tables; whereas the considerably larger billets or blooms required for producing the I-beam by the groove process of rollin equally large beam blank required for producing the I-beam by rolling in a universal mill, which were the only commercially practicable means heretofore available for rolling flanged beams, are either too short to be readily'handled in the furnaces and on the tables in the first passes or else they produce too long a finished product to be completed within the time available while the metal is at a rolling heat.

In the 'first pass (see Fig. 1) the roll grooves 1, 1, are similar and are provided with central wedge shaped working collars and the to channel the billet 13 (shown in dotted lengthwise bends therein resulting in a zigsarily be affected by in different cases and will depend on the zag cross sectional shape calculated to thinthe middle portion 30% to 60% and to expand the web of the blank 10% to 25% more in width with a minimum reduction in crosssectional area and without spreading the flanges more than will permit them to fill in the -roll grooves. This rapid deformation 4 is made possible by I ermitting a consider able portion of the isplaced metal to flow laterally into the flanges, as shown in Fig, 2, the increase in the width of the web portion being accommodatedby bending it along two longitudinal lines to form two ribs or corrugations, as shown in Figs. 2 and 10. The number of lines of bend may be increased advantageously inyproducing the larger sizes of beams, two or more collars being provided on each roll groove for this purpose.

The resulting zigzag shape blank '15 (see Figs.'3 and 10) may if preferred be successively rolled through one or more passes having similar butwider grooves with or without the longitudinal ribs or corrugations, until its width is over of the depth of the finished beam) and its thickness at the edges of the flangesj and through the web is such that the areas of these portions exceed those of the flanges and web of the finished beam insimilar proportions. In the illustrative case in the first pass the billet is spread from a 6" by 5" rectangle to a width of 7%" (about 22.9% increase in width) and is reduced in thickness at the middle to 1 (a reduction of about Ti in the second pass the width measured along the center line of the web is increased to 8% (about 21.5%) and the thickness is reduced to (about 44.4%),and in the third pass the width is'increased to 9 (about 5.8%) and the thickness is reduced to (about 20%),the total spreadin 'in the three passes being about 52 72; an the reduction in thickness of the web "being about 90% of the original dimensions of the billet. (Com-- pare shapes of billet'13 and blank 16 in Fig. 10). By rolling the billet in this manner it is easier to complete the rolling of the beam in one heat because of the saving in time by the reduction in the number of passes thereby permitted.

The invention is not restricted to an particular number of passes for this W1C ening and reducin operation, as this will necesthe results aimed at condition of rolling and the products desired. In the illustrative case there are three grooving and spreading passes, and the rolls are geared together to provide for an increase in speed (and consequent reduction in cross-sectional area) of about thirty .per cent in each pass.

In the illustrative case, all of the passes succeedin the first pass in the first stand of rolls gsee Fig. 1) are designed to .work on the diagonally opposite flanges of the blank to thin them in sets of two in alterna tion, at the same time separating them somewhat and reducing the web to increase the depth and reduce the weight of the beam. For example, in the second pass the roll grooves 2, 2', are designed to work the top left and bottom right hand flanges, and the third pass has roll grooves 3, 3', designed to workthe unworked flanges in the third pass. Similarly, in thei ourth pass the roll grooves 4, 4, are designed to Work the top left and bottom right hand flanges, which were not worked in the third pass.

The diagonally opposite arrangement of working grooves enables the principal axial plane of the blank and grooves to be disposed at an inclination to the-axis of rotation of the 'rolls, thereby permitting the blank to free itself more readily from the grooves, and thus relieve the guides and Th1s arrangement is particustrippers. larly advantageous in the rolling of double flanged shapes (such as I-beams) having thin flanges, for it tends to avoid stripping the flanges from the web at high rolling speeds.

as to work upon diagonally opposite flanges of the blank in an advantageous manner to thin and separate them, the reduction in area of the flanges and web in each pass being proportional. Part of the metal of the upper right and lower left flanges of the blank 17 (as seen in Fig. 5) is displaced sidewise by the grooves 5, 5', of the fifth pass and this increases the depth of the blank 18 therein formed; and a similar sidewise displacement of part of the metal of the opposite flanges is caused by the grooves 6, 6', of the following ass (6th) which still further increasesthe epth of the blank 19 formed therein.

Similarly, the roll grooves 7, 7', and 8, 8, of the seventh and eighth passes may advantageously be designed to work in succession upon the pairs of diagonally opposite flanges of the blank, at the same time separating them somewhat to widen the web, and reducing the web in proportion to the reduction of the flanges, the grooves 7, 7, operating on one pair of flanges to produce the blank and the grooves 8, 8, operating The cross-sectional area and shape of the blank produced by the widening and reducing operations may be controlled to suit the desired finished beam so that the beam may be readily completed by a final finishing pass.

through a fixed pass combination mill ofsuitable construction, or byany other well known rolling nnll methods of finishing such beams. Althoughnot essential to the successful practice of the invention, it is desirable from the standpoint of cost that the various operations be performed at such speed that the billet may be broken down into a blank and rolled to the finished shape of the beam in one heat.

My inventions are the first, so far as I am aware, that enable a thin web light weight beam to be completed at one heat, thus making it practicable to produce such beams at a price that permits them to be sold in competition with wood joists and so-called metal lumber.

My invention has the further advantage, applicable not only tothe' production of all sizes and'shapes of beams and girders, channels and other flanged shapes, but also the sheet bars, wide strips, plates and other flat rolled sections, of utilizing a narrower billet for wide and thin shapes or sections than has heretofore been found practical, thereby not only reducing the rolling cost by lessening the reduction in area required, but also permitting the use of longer billets and thus expediting the heating and saving furnace space as well as facilitating handling in the earlier rolling operations.

It is obvious that the invention is not restricted to any particular shapes or dimensions of rolled members, nor to the use of all of the steps described above in the illus trat-ive process. a

No claim is made herein to the light weight beam produced by the practice of my invention, as that is the subjectmatter of another application for patent.

Having described an illustrative mode of practicing my invention, without limiting myself thereto, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows:

1. The process of rolling wide shapes from narrow billets which comprises repeated grooving passes operating first upon the mid portion of the billet and progressing toward its edges to thin and spread it laterally and work the metal in the edge portions of the billet into the progressively widening and thinned portion.

2. The process of rolling which comprises repeated grooving passes operating first upon the mid portion of the blank and progressing toward its edges to thin and spread it laterally, the grooves on opposite sides of the blank being displaced farther from the mid line in successive passes to widen the thinned portion between them.

3. The process of rolling flanged shapes which comprises repeated grooving passes operating first upon the mid portion of the blank to form a web portion having edge flanges and progressing toward its edges to thin and spread the web laterally and work the metal in the flange portions into the progressively widening web portion.

'4. The process of rolling thin products in grooved rolls which comprises repeated grooving passes operating first upon the mid portion of the blank and progressively working the grooves deeper and toward the edges of the blank on opposite sides thereof in alternation to thin and spread the intervening metal.

5.'The process of rolling thin products in grooved rolls which comprises repeated grooving passes operating first upon the mid portion of the blank and progressively working the grooves deeper and toward the edges of the blank on opposite sides thereof to thin and spread the intervening metal, successive passes operating alternately upon opposite sides of the blank to reverse the position of the groove.

.6. The process of rolling thin products in grooved rolls which comprises grooving passes operating first upon the mid portion of the blank .and progressively working the grooves deeper and toward the edgeS of the blank on opposite sides thereof to thin and spread the intervening metal, the number of grooves being increased symmetrically as the rolling progresses so that odd numbers of grooves are formed on each side of the blank, respectively. r

7. The process of rolling light weight flanged members from a billet which com-' prises grooving the billet deeply on opposite faces to displace its edges toward bothsides from the mid line-to form like grooves on both faces, and extending the grooves inwards and toward opposite edges of the billet, respectively, to produce a zigzag web and inclined flanges.

8. The process of rolling light weight flanged members from a billet which comprises grooving the billet deeply on opposite sides from bothsides of the midline and repeated extending the grooves inwards toward the edges of the billet to produce a zigzag web andvinelined flanges, successive passes oper- I ating to bend the web at the extremities of the rooves to invert the grooves and reverse from vnarrow billets or blanks that comprises deeply grooving the mid portion of the blank and displacing the metal of the thicker edge portions laterally by series of complementary grooving operations alternating on opposite-sides of the blank and progressively further away from its mid line, substantially as described.

10. The process of rolling thin web shapes from narrow billets or blanks that comprises deeply grooving laterally spaced portions of the blank from opposite faces to. form the same number of corrugations or ribs on each face and displacing the metal in the ribs on one face across the principal plane of the shape to form thinnerwider ribs on the opposite face, thereby widening and thinning the blank. v p

11. The process of rolling thin wide shapes from narrow billets or blanks that comprises deeply grooving laterally spaced ortions of the blank from opposite faces to orm corrugations or ribs on each face and displacing the metal in the ribs on one face across the principal plane of the shape to fbrm thinner wider ribs on the opposite face, thereby widening and thinning the blank.

12. The process of rolling wide flanged shapes from narrow billets which comprises repeated multi-grooving passes operatin first u on the billet near its mid-line an therea ter upon portions of the billet more remote from the mid-line to thin it near the middle and extend the thinned portion toward the edges progremively to form a wide i shapes from narrow billets or blanks which comprises repeated multi-grooving passes operating principally upon the medial region of the billet to thin and bend it into a blank having a zig-zag web flanked by heavy flanges, and thereafter flattening and reducing said web and reducing said flanges simultaneously in successive passes according to the diagonal system wherein diagonally opposite flanges are opera-ted upon simultaneously in alternation.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

NORMAN C. RENDLEMAN. 

